Top Shelf

Top ShelfImage by andyi
I really dig the Bookshelf Project Flickr group. It gives me an outlet for a common sick urge that many people in my demographic suffer from.

You were kind enough to invite me to your home for a dinner party and I excused myself in the middle of the meal to use the restroom. But it was a ruse: I high-tailed it to the living room so I could spend ten minutes standing with my head tilted to the right, checking out the couple of dozen books you have on that one shelf above the center-channel speaker in your entertainment hutch.

I’ve been meaning to do one of these "annotated bookcase" photos for a long, long time. Recently a pal posted one and it sort of egged me on to finally do it. That, plus the fact that Zero-Sum is due for an overhaul (where I cautiously decide which titles wouldn’t be missed if I removed them, and decide which new titles have earned a coveted spot in the rankings). Kinda fun to document these things.

This is the big "zero sum" bookcase in my office dedicated to "entertainment" books. "Zero Sum" meaning that when a new book goes _in,_ obviously an existing book (or two) has to come out to make room. I have no self-control when it comes to books in the office and this is the only way to keep the things from becoming such an infestation that my computers sit on desks made of books, I sit on chairs made from books, I keep my books in bookcases made of books…

Andy, you missed it. Amazon had The Complete Calvin and Hobbes on their Deal of the Day back in December. I got my copy for $65 shipped. I’ll let you know if I ever see it come up again. Oh, and it’s gorgeous.

Oof you need to fix those sagging shelves! Shameless promotion time! http://www.halebookcases.com , pure hardwood bookcases with solid shelves that will never bow (owned by a family friend, I used to do development for them, great family run business). They can also be found in many large universities and government buildings, great quality.

I need to get into the Zero-Sum habit with my study bookcases, too. I’ve spent the past month or so rearranging the room so I could have more space in it, and am going to be sending many, many books away as soon as I get done cataloging them. See here for a glimpse of my madness. When exactly the hell did I think I would ever need a massive book on NT 4 Server? And my criteria for selection here was "If I can think of any situation whatsoever in which I would ever open the cover of this book, however vague and unlikely, it stays." I.e., this massive pile is all books that I, an admitted packrat, was willing to part with with absolutely no pain whatsoever.

(Except for physical, obviously. Moving that many books around is hell on one’s back)